26 Birds of North Carolina 



9. Stercorarius parasiticus {Linn.). Parasitic Jaeger. 



A(h. light phase. — Back, wings, and tail slaty fuscous; top of head and lores nearly black; 

 sides of head and l)ack of neck straw-yellow, this color sometimes spreading dowTi sides of 

 neck and on throat; breast and belly white; sides of breast, flanks, lower belly, and crissmn 

 slaty fuscous; tarsi and feet (in dried specimens^ black; middle tail-feathers pointed and 

 extending about 3.00 beyond the others, .h/.f. dttrk phaKc. — Entire plumage dark, slaty 

 brown, darker on top of liead; \uiderparts slightly lighter; .sometimes a trace of straw-yellow 

 on sides and back of neck; tarsi, feet and tail as in preceding. Im. liiihl iilinsr. — T'pperparts, 

 wings and tail fusco\is; feathers of back, neck and head more or less bordercil, tipjied or burred 

 with butTy; hindneck and head sometimes bufty. streaked or t)arred with fuscous, and varying 

 from this color to plain fuscous; longer, lateral upper tail-coverts barred with buffy; tail buffy, 

 whitish at ba-se; under wing-coverts barred with l>ufTy; underparts white, washed with buffy, 

 and irregularly Ijarred with sooty fuscous; these bars sometimes very numerous when the under- 

 parts look a.s if washed with sooty fuscous; again, they may be le.ss numerous and confined to 

 breast and sides, leaving the belly white; central tail-feathers pointed, projecting somewhat 

 bevond the others. Im. dark jihiixc — Sootv fuscous feathers, particularlv on underparts, more 

 or less marked with ochraceous-bufT. L., 17.00; \V., 13.00; T., .\(\.. .S.liO; Im., ti.40; U., 1.1,'). 



litiiKirhx. — This species closely resembles ,S. Iiinnicinidu.'i. Adults of l)oth species, whether 

 in the dark or light phase of plumage, may always be distinguished from each other by the 

 difference in the length of their central tail-feathers, in addition to the characters given in 

 tlie key. Young birds cannot be distinguished by color, but may be identified by the differ- 

 ences in relative proportions of the bill. Katon calls attention to the fact that in jiarainlicus 

 the shafts of all the primaries are white, while in longirandus only the outer two or tliree are 

 white, the rest being abruptly brownish. (Chap., Bird.s of E. X. A.) 



licDKje. — Northern i)ortions of Northern Hemisphere, breeding far northward, straggling in 

 winter occsisionally to North Carolina. 



Range in North Carolina. — Once taken near Cape Lookout in winter. 



Our only record of this bird is that of a specimen purchased by Pearson from 

 A. Piner of Morehead City. It had been taken near Cape Lookout in the fall of 

 1897. (See Auk, vol. 16, p. 249.) 



Jaegers are fierce sea-pirates, and constantly rob gulls of their food. Pearson, 

 who has watched them on the coast of Maine, states that their flight is very strong, 

 and tliat they are able to turn and twist through the air with wonderful dexterity. 



The Pomarine Jaeger {Stercorarius pomarinus) winters a.s far south a-s New Jersey, and the 

 Long-tailed Jaeger {Stercoriiriii^ tongicaudus) hsis been taken in Florida; hence both species 

 are not unlikely to be foimd off our coast. 



5, FAMILY LARID/E. GULLS AND TERNS 



This large and important family contains the great majority of the long-winged 

 swimmers. The usual color is white, with a darker mantle, usually of a pearly, 

 bluish tint, but sometimes blackish or sooty. 



Two sulii'amilies, the gulls (Larinw) and the terns (Sternince), are recognized. 



KEY TO THE SUBFA.MILIES AND GENERA 



1. Bill more or less hooked; gener.al color chiefly white, with a darker (bluish-gray or slaty) 

 mantle; tail usually even. (!ulls. (.Subfaiiiily LririHcr. ) See 2. 



1. Bill not hooked, the mandibles even; tail deeply forked except in Anoiis. Terns. (Sub- 



family Sternina:) See 4. 



2, Hind toe rudimentary or absent. Rissa. 



2. Hind toe perfectly developed, but small. Sec 3. 



3. Tail even. Larutt. 



3. Tail deeply emarginate or forked. Xema. 



4. Tail littli' more than one-third length of wing, its outer feathers broad and rounded, toes 



scantily webbed, colors dark. H ydrochelidon. 



4. Tail much more than one-third length of wing, its outer feathers narrow and pointed, toes 



full webbed. See 3. 



5. Bill stout, its depth at its base equal to '3 culmcn. d'elochelidon. 



5, Bill slender, its depth at base not one-third its length. (If stout, wing is over 14.00.) SleiTia. 



